Seemingly endless D.J. drama finally at a close Lard

Good Morning, Broncos fans! The tumultuous, torturous offseason for D.J. Williams is finally nearing an end, although the linebacker is taking another hit in the bank account to get there.

According to Mike Klis, the man named Genos will be officially back with the Broncos tomorrow under a renegotiated (trimmed) contract, the details of which have not been released.

It's been a dramatic eight months for the ninth-year player, starting with news in March that he'd been suspended six games for providing a non-human urine sample after allegedly fumbling the bottle it had come from. D.J. attempted to fight that suspension by suing the NFL in federal court, but that suit was dismissed in June.

In the interim, a mistrial was declared in the first trial for his 2010 DUI case, and then he tweeted out a page from the Broncos' defensive playbook, albeit not one featuring any truly sensitive material. Still, it was another judgment error in a Denver career littered with them.

With D.J. facing the looming prospect of a six-game suspension and perhaps more for his DUI case, the coaching staff turned the former first-rounder into a training camp bystander, instead giving Denver's young and unproven linebackers time to learn and show their stuff.

It's been just as eventful a period for the rest of Denver's linebackers, although more in a football sense. Both Joe Mays and Wesley Woodyard were re-signed in March to what seemed at the time fairly expensive contracts (three years, $12M for Mays, two years, $3.5M for Woodyard); Danny Trevathan was drafted, Steven Johnson made the team as an undrafted rookie, and Keith Brooking was added to the picture in August.

Once the season began, it didn't take long for Mays to prove he wasn't really worth the $4.5M in guarantees Denver had given him instead of letting him fly to New Orleans along with fellow 2011 revelation Brodrick Bunkley. His poor reads and a continuation of the missed tackles from last year prompted a call from our good Doc Bear to bench the ex-Eagles special-teams ace in favor of Brooking, and outright derision from us.

These linebacker struggles began to make D.J. Williams's eventual return a seemingly welcome and desperately needed one. Yet, just as some of us began to romanticize the idea of Genos solidifying a thin group - perhaps at the Mike spot he had played in 2007 - Brooking became a steadying influence, Woodyard went into beast mode, and even Trevathan started to get involved, playing 58 defensive snaps over the past two weeks.

Suddenly, now that his return is truly imminent, D.J. is appearing more like luxurious depth than crucial missing link.

And with the Broncos having patiently waited out the situation as we'd suggested they should back in August, Denver again holds all the cards, and this leverage has resulted in a chastened Dyme Life Williams coming back to the team at a deep discount to what had originally been a $4.9M salary this season.

D.J.'s salary for 2013 - the final season of a six-year, $32M extension signed in September 2008 - was scheduled to be worth $6M, but it remains to be seen whether that figure was also revised downward. Our guess is that it indeed was, given that the linebacker claims he wants to finish his career in Denver.

We'll wait for contract details to emerge to cast further judgment, but for now, we'll heartily applaud the Broncos' handling of the situation, and D.J.'s willingness to put his money where his mouth is.

Whatever his role may be going forward, let's hope it contributes to a deep postseason run that continues right up until his ankle monitor gets slapped on, and that the up-and-down drama at both linebacker for the Broncos and in D.J.'s personal life have come to a quiet, happy conclusion.

Broncos

Like fellow undrafted corner Chris Harris, Tony Carter was not invited to combine, and he says that's put a chip on his shoulder.

Dan Pompei checks in with John Elway regarding the progress of Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, and the influence of Peyton Manning upon them.

Woody Paige says there truly is no bitterness toward the Panthers organization from Fox, who says he was ready to take a year off from coaching before taking the Broncos gig instead.

Denver ranks second in the NFL in offensive red-zone efficiency, and can anyone remember a time when that was the case in the past 14 years? Unfortunately, they're also fifth-worst in that category on defense.

Mark Kiszla is among the crowd complaining about the Broncos' selection of Brock Osweiler, but has everyone already forgotten the mess in Indy that resulted in Peyton Manning coming to Denver? They didn't have any sort of real backup or QB of the future, which is why Bill Polian is now a television pundit instead of continuing his storied career as a GM. Denver's former QB aside, this was the story of the 2011 NFL season.

Panthers

Tom Sorensen revisits Fox's departure from Carolina and doesn't buy the coach's claim that he doesn't especially want his team to beat the Panthers' brains in.

Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy are a legitimate match for Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil among prolific sack duos.

Incredibly, the Panthers have not won any of the 13 games in which Cam Newton has thrown an interception. Of course, file under trivia - not stats.

Romeo Crennel has taken the remarkable step of threatening to bench any Chiefs player whom he determines responsible for giving the ball away; Randy Covitz compares the first four years of Scott Pioli's tenure as Chiefs GM to the same span of Carl Peterson's stint in KC, and finds Pioli comes up quite short.

New England activated TE Visanthe Shiancoe from IR; the G-Men activated S Will Hill from suspension and placed CB Michael Coe on IR to make room for him; Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders was fined $15K by the league for allegedly faking an injury against the Bengals, and he will appeal the ruling.

Mike Lombardi says Sean Payton will be back coaching the Saints next year, although that appears to be more his opinion than a reporting of fact.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

Frankly I'm surprised that given his history of being a dumb ass, that they wanted him back on the team at all.. Certainly not the good two shoes that they (Elway) seem to be stocking the team with..

At least they seem to be hedging their bets by asking him to take a, what I hope is a very healthy, cut in pay..

as well as the others are playing I do not see him getting back on the field for any meaningful snaps.. Other than giving some one a blow after a long run down..

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2012-11-12 01:53:33

A few things struck me from DJ's recent interview. First, he seems to be a bit of an introvert. Second, he doesn't seem to have any desire to communicate with the public/manage his image despite being in a profession where being a public figure comes with the territory. In the absence of any positive communication, his poor decisions off of the field and inconsistent play cast him in a negative light. If he is going to rehabilitate his image and role on the team, he is naturally going to have to deliver on the field, but I think he also needs to put some effort into communicating with the public. A lot of his personal frustration seemed to stem from the public not reading his mind about about how he wanted his actions to be perceived.

As always, thank your for the Lard.

Posted by Broncos777 on 2012-11-11 12:54:22

My only question about the linebackers is whether any of them can cover a tight end. Those guys eat the Broncos' lunch, and good teams are lousy with them. Unless DJ has some kind of ace coverage skills I don't remember, it's easy to see the season ending at the hands of a boatload of Owen Daniels/Rob Gronkowski/Tony Gonzales/Vernon Davis catches on third down. It is the team's obvious weakness.

Thanks, EastCoastBronco7 - Ray Bradbury said to write everyday, to constantly work that muscle out. I am glad that my doing so has some visible results; I'm still just trying to catch up to the writing skills of TJ, Ted, and Doc.

Posted by Douglas Lee on 2012-11-11 12:30:53

D.J. would be smart to come back in and work to be part of the team, not THE team. Work with, not overwhelm. We don't need any distractions, this group is playing well already. You can, just substitute a player, but better to substitute a player with confidence. Substituting also helps with fewer injuries. Kuper, come out when you're tired. Having the latter is what really gives you a shot at post season play, so I hope D.J. has his priorities straight. Football-Broncos Win=$. Be a businessman, D.J. retire comfortably.

Posted by CaptCatnip on 2012-11-11 11:54:44

Doug, I do not know how you find the time to write the Lard every day, or the effect this has on your family life. But I am grateful that you do this for all of us. Thank you for also putting your own educational and sometimes tongue in cheek view to the news.

Posted by cockneybronco on 2012-11-11 11:46:29

Doug, it's been said before, but your writing continues to grow and blossom. While I don't even fully agree with the tone of some of the commentary, just the way today's DJ section flowed was approaching masterful. Really well done Doug, and it's always appreciated.

Well done.

Posted by EastCoastBronco7 on 2012-11-11 11:42:21

Today it's the team led by Cam,He once was a battering ram,This year, he plays bad,Then mopes around sad,But Bronco fans don't give a damn.